I'm used to seeing dumb, uninformed comments in the Sound Off section because people don't have to sign their names, but usually letters are a little bit more thought out. The letter from Lake Orion on gun control was just as ignorant as any Sound Off comment. The assault-weapons ban did not reduce crime; it had zero effect, according to the official FBI statistics. I don't know where the letter writer got his information. He obviously got it out of thin air. Furthermore, he said the writers of the Constitution were considering muskets, not AK-47s. A musket can kill you just the same. Millions of people died with muskets in various wars. They're not exactly pea-shooters; they can actually kill you. AK-47s have never been legally sold. The only people who have them are criminals who buy them on the black market or in Mexico. That school didn't have an AK-47. People writing letters usually do a little more research.

-- Royal Oak

This is in response to the Sound Off letter from Bloomfield Hills. It is obvious that the letter writer is a Republican who hates Democrats. I am a Democrat, but I don't hate Republicans. I'm sure you support the NRA. Chances are good that you are a follower of Rush Limbaugh. I recently had a conversation with an acquaintance who spent six months in Japan on a work assignment. He left Japan with the feeling that the Japanese hate Americans and believe we are weak. The letter writer's comments show them they are right by buying a Japanese car. It's apparent that hate for Democrats had something to do with the writer buying a foreign car that supports a foreign economy. No wonder this country is such a mess. The Japanese people are smarter than we are.

-- Waterford Township

I disagree with the person in Rochester who wrote in and said that the signs in the downtown area look terrible. The signs are great. You don't have to worry about where you're going or what you need to see or do. The signs are there to show you the way. Keep it up, Rochester.

-- Lake Orion

At one time in our country's history, the unions were necessary, but over the last couple of decades, they have gotten out of control. They are full of self-serving thugs. If you have any doubt, just look at the shutdown at Hostess. Unwilling to negotiate concessions to keep the company in business, union members willingly continued striking and sent the company into insolvency. The workers now have no jobs, no paychecks and no benefits. You have to wonder how that's working out for them. Hurrah for Gov. Rick Snyder for signing the right-to-work bill.

-- White Lake Township

During the war in 1950, Korea was an icebox and a horrible place. Anyone who doesn't think so, just ask a Marine who was near there. But when the troops came home, the great people of Michigan voted them a bonus. That's something these greedy tea party zealots today and Grover Norquist would never allow. Times have really changed, and Americans don't care about the troops anymore.